Interior file cabinet lock



""ltm R. L. STEGIMAIER 2,908,538

INTERICR FILE CABINET LOCK Filed April 25, 1956 19 19 Z 2 41 25 Z4 Z7Oct. 13, 1959 Wm W 'ofimw I ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ice I2,908,538 INTERIOR CABINET LOCK Raymond L. Stegmaier, Arlington, Va.Application April 23, 1956, Serial No. 579,994

4 Claims. (Cl. 312-218 The present invention relates in general to filecabinet locking mechanisms, and more particularly tointerior drawerlocking mechanisms for file cabinets and the like for use with padlocksor other separate locking facilities to conveniently dispense withbar-lock sets for file cabinets.

Propersecurity controls for valuable papers and writings of all typeswhich are desired to be preserved in secrecy or protected fromunauthorized inspection requires the provision of some facility forlocking file cabinet drawers in which such papers or writings are storedin closed condition. This has conventionally been accomplished byproviding vertically aligned fixed hasps or staples at spaced locationson the front of the file cabinet frame, usually on the bottom and one ofthe intermediate horizontal parting strips into which the elongatedsteel bar of approximately the height of the front face of the filecabinet is inserted when the drawers are in closed position to overliethe drawer fronts and prevent their withdrawal from the cabinet. Thebaris usually provided with an aperture adjacent the upper end thereofthrough which another hasp or staple fixed at the upper end of the'filecabinet is projected to receive some type of lock, or the bar isprovided with a rearwardly ofiset flange which is apertured to receive alike hasp or staple projecting from the top wall of the cabinet. Suchdevices are beset with numerous disadvantages, including the problemsrelating to storage of the bars in out-ofthe way placeswhfle the filecabinets are in use during working hours, the total exposure of the barsrendering them readily subject to tampering by unauthorized personnel,and the time-consuming procedure required to assemble such bars inlocking position on the file cabinet.

Efforts have been made to alleviate some of these inder of a cylinderlock mounted in the front wall of the e file cabinet controls a verticallink for depressing locking levers pivoted on the rear wall of the filecabinet and disposed internally thereof and resilientlybiased upwardlyinto locking engagement with the file cabinet drawers to release thelevers from locking relation with the drawers. These linkages have notproved to be a totally satisfac+ tory solution to the problem, as thelocking levers are only resiliently. urged into locking engagement withthe file cabinet drawers after being cammed downwardly by engagementwith the locking drawer projections when the drawers are shifted intoclosed condition within the file cabinet and are devoid of any means forpositively insuring return of the levers to locking engagement with thedrawers. Because of this, slight misalignments or de-.

2,908,538 Patented'Oct. 13, 1959 tive'interlocking of the interiorlocking mechanism with the drawers and full closure of the drawersrelative to the file cabinet.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novelinterior locking mechanism for locking the drawers of a multidrawer filecabinet in closed condition, which is adaptable to be secured in drawerlocking condition by conventional commercially available separate lockunits.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of novelinternal file cabinet locking mechanism for locking the drawers of amultidrawer file cabinet in closed condition, characterized bysimplicity and economy of construction, dependability of operation, andhigh security characteristics.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detail description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, showing only a preferredembodiment of the invention.

In the drawing: 7

, Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a file cabinet embodyingthe present invention, with parts broken away to reveal the structure ofthe interior locking mechanism.

Figure 2 is a vertical section view taken along the line 22 of Figure l.I

Figure 3 is a vertical section view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure2, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of components of the interiorlocking mechanism. 1

Referring to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate.the corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the interiordrawer locking mechanism of the present invention, indicated generallyby the reference character 10, is adapted to be positioned within amultidrawer file cabinet 11 of any conventional form between one of theside walls 12 ofthe file cabinet and the adjacent drawer side 13 of theusual reciprocable file cabinet drawer 14. The drawer locking mechanism10 may be adapted for use with a single drawer 13 of any desired numberof vertically aligned drawers in a file cabinet.

The interior locking mechanism 10' comprises an elongated control bar orrod 15 having an exterior head portion 16 which may be a separate memberof rectangular, circular or other desired cross section afiixed to orformed integral with the control bar 15 disposed with its outermostportion projecting exteriorly of the file cabinet front Wall 17, throughan accommodating aperture 18. The enlarged control bar head 16 isapertured, as indicated at 19, to receive the shackle of an exposedshackle padlock, or the like, 20, when the control bar 15 is projectedoutwardly of the file cabinet 11 to its farthest extent. The oposite endof the control bar 15 is pivotally partures from critical manufacturersspecifications which a Additionally, the conventions adopted for 5secured, as indicated at 21 to a rotary motion transfer disk 22 at apoint adjacent the periphery of the disk 22, and is additionallyprovided with an aperture'23 through which the hooked end of a coilspring 24 is projected.

The motion transfer disk 22 is pivotally mounted at its center, asindicated at 25, to a rectangular mounting plate 26 adapted to be weldedor otherwise affixed to the interior surface of the side wall 12 of thefile cabinet 11. A spring anchor flange 27 projects from the rearportion of the mounting plate 26in substantial alignment with the axisof the control bar 15 to support one end of the coil spring 24. A limitpin 28 projects from the mounting plate 26 into an arcuate relievedsegment 29 formed in the periphery of the motion transfer disk 22 toabut the shoulders at the opposite ends of the relieved segmeat :29 andlimit rotation of the motion transfer "disk 22 to a preselected range ofrotary movement.

A locking bar 30 extends vertically along the side wall 12 of thecabinet 11 between the side wall 12 and the drawer sides 13 of thenumber of vertically arranged drawers 14 to be simultaneously locked bythe locking mechanism 10. The uppermost end of the locking bar 30 ispivotally coupled, as indicated at 31, to the motion transfer disk 22,the pivotal coupling 31 being preferably spaced from the disk pivot 25in correspondence with the radial spacing of the control bar pivot 21and located in quadrature relation thereto. A rib-like bolt 32 is affixed to or integral with and projects inwardly from the locking bar 30alongside the drawer side 13 of each drawer to be locked by the lockingmechanism, and terminates at its lower end in a bolt finger 33 whichprojects downwardly in a vertical plane and is spaced inwardly from theinwardly facing surface of the locking bar 30 to be selectively receivedin the keeper aperture 34 in the horizontal flange 35 of an angle ironkeeper member 36 Welded or suitably affixed to each drawer side 13. Alimit shoulder 37 is spaced below the lower end of each bolt finger 33and projects inwardly from the locking bar 30 to underlie the keeperflange 35 of each keeper 36 and limit upward movement of the locking bar30.

In the operation of the above described locking mechanism, thecomponents will assume the position illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3when the mechanism is in unlocked condition. When all of the filecabinet drawers 14 have been fully projected into their accommodatingrecesses in the file cabinet '11, the keeper apertures 34 of the angleiron keepers 36 on the sides of each of the drawers 14 will be invertical alignment with the bolt fingers 33 of the bolts 32 on thelocking bar 30. If the control bar head 16 be then grasped by theoperator and drawn outwardly of the file cabinet 11, the motion transferdisk 22 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFigure 2 thereby projecting the locking bar 30 downwardly and the freelower ends of the bolt fingers 33 into the keeper apertures 34 of eachof the angle iron "keepers 36 associated therewith. The range ofvertical movement imparted to the locking bar 30 is preferablysuflicient to project the bolt fingers 33 into the keeper apertures 34to such an extent as to bring the shoulders 38 of the bolts 32 at theupper ends of the bolt fingers 33 into abutment with the keeper flanges35. When the locking bar 30 is in this position, the exterior head 16 ofthe control bar will have been shifted outwardly of the file cabinet asufficient distance to expose the aperture 19 therein immediatelyoutwardly of the file cabinet front wall 17 in condition to receive theshackle of a padlock or other locking unit. The padlock thus coupledwith the control bar head 16 will engage the front file cabinet wall 17upon attempted projection of the control bar 15 into the file cabinetand limit such movement to an extent precluding withdrawal of the boltfingers 33 from the keeper apertures 34. Upon removal of the padlock 20and full projection of the control bar 15 inwardly of the file cabinet,the consequent clockwise rotation of the motion transfer disk 22 willelevate the locking bar 30 to completely withdraw the bolt fingers 33from the keeper apertures 34 and free the file cabinet drawers 14 forannual withdrawal from the tile cabinet 11. The coil spring 24resiliently retains the control bar 15 in its inwardly projectedposition to maintain the locking bar 30 in elevated condition whereinthe bolt fingers 33 are free of engagement with the keepers 36 of thefile cabinet drawers.

While only one preferred embodiment of the invention has beenparticularly shown and described, it is apparent that othermodifications may be made in the invention without departing from thespirit and scope thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only suchlimitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art andare set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a filing cabinet having a plurality of walls including a wallprovided with at least one drawer opening and at least one slidabledrawer having drawer walls in parallelism with and spaced inwardly fromsaid cabinet walls, a drawer locking mechanism for permitting the drawerto be secured in fully closed position by a padlock located externallyof the filing cabinet walls comprising apertured keeper means afiixed toone of said drawer walls and projecting toward the adjacent cabinetwall, vertically arranged reciprocative locking bar means disposedbetween said keeper means and said adjacent cabinet wall having boltmeans integral therewith disposed for movement in a vertical pathintercepting an aperture of said keeper means when the drawer is infully closed position, and reciprocative control means for raising saidlocking bar means to withdraw said bolt means from interlocking relationwith said keeper means upon inward movement of said control means andlowering said locking means to interlock said bolt means with saidkeeper means upon outward movement of said control means, said controlmeans including a portion projecting through a wall of said cabinethaving a padlock shackle-receiving aperture therein positioned to lieimmediately outwardly of the cabinet wall penetrated by said controlmeans portion when said control means occupies its outermost positiondisposing said locking bar means in interlocked relation with saidkeeper means and said last-mentioned cabinet wall having portionsbounding the control means portion projecting therethrough forming astop surface for a padlock shackle disposed in said shackle-receivingaperture to prevent inward displacement of said control means portionfrom said outermost position.

2. In a filing cabinet and the like having side walls, a front wallhaving an aperture therein and provided with at least one drawer openingand at least one slidable drawer having drawer sides in parallelism withand spaced inwardly from said cabinet side walls, a drawer lockingmechanism disposed between one of said cabinet sides and the adjacentdrawer side for permitting the drawer to be secured 'in fully closedposition by a padlock located externally of the filing cabinet wallscomprising apertured keeper means atfixed to said adjacent drawer sideand projecting toward the adjacent cabinet side, locking bar meansarranged for vertical reciprocative movement between said keeper meansand said adjacent cabinet side having a downwardly extending projectiondisposed in a vertical path intercepting an aperture of said keepermeans when the drawer is in fully closed position, and control means forraising said locking bar means from a keeper interlocking position andlowering the same into keeper locking position upon inward and outwardmovement, respectively, relative to said cabinet including a generallyhorizontally disposed reciprocative elongated control member projectingthrough said front wall aperture and having a padlock shackle-receivingaperture therein to be disposed immediately outwardly of said front wallwhen said control member occupies its outermost position and to bepositioned within said cabinet rearwardly of said front wall when saidcontrol member occupies its innermost position, the portion of saidfront wall bounding said aperture forming a stop surface interceptingthe path of movement of a padlock shackle disposed in saidshackle-receiving aperture upon inward movement of said control memberto prevent inward displacement of said control member from saidoutermost position when a padlock is coupled therewith.

3. In a filing cabinet having side walls, a front wall provided withdrawer openings and an aperture, and a plurality of slidable drawershaving drawer sides in parallelism with and spaced inwardly from saidcabinet side walls, a drawer locking mechanism disposed between one ofsaid cabinet sides and the adjacent drawer sides for permitting thedrawer to be secured in fully closed position by a padlock locatedexternally of the filing cabinet walls comprising a keeper flangeaffixed to each of said adjacent drawer sides and projecting toward saidadjacent cabinet side and each having a keeper aperture therein, alocking bar supported for vertical reciprocative movement between saidkeeper llanges and said adjacent cabinet side, said locking bar having aplurality of vertically spaced bolt members corresponding to said keeperflanges rigidly fixed thereon terminating in downwardly projectingfingers located in the vertical axis of said keeper apertures when saiddrawers are all in fully closed position for projection into said keeperapertures, a generally horizontally disposed reciprocative elongatedcontrol member projecting through said front wall aperture and having apadlock shackle-receiving aperture in one end thereof, means pivotallycoupling the other end of said control member to said locking bar toraise and lower said locking bar upon inward and outward movement,respectively, of said control member relative to said cabinet forwithdrawing said fingers simultaneously from said keeper apertures andprojecting the same into positive locking engagement in said keeperapertures and including means for positively holding the locking bar ata lowermost position with said fingers in locking position in saidkeeper apertures when said control member is at its outermost position,said shackle-receiving aperture being located in exposed conditionimmediately outwardly of said front cabinet wall when said controlmember occupies its outermost position disposing said locking barfingers in interlocking relation with said keeper flanges and saidshackle-receiving aperture being withdrawn into said cabinet rearwardlyof said front wall when said control member is shifted inwardly towithdraw said fingers from said keeper flanges, the portion of saidfront wall bounding said aperture providing a stop surface for abuttinga padlock shackle disposed in said shackle-receiving aperture to preventinward displacement of said control member from said outermost positionwhen a padlock shackle is positioned in said shackle-receiving aperture.

4. In a filing cabinet having side walls, a front wall provided withdrawer openings and an aperture, and a plurality of slidable drawershaving drawer sides in parallelism with and spaced inwardly from saidcabinet side walls, a drawer locking mechanism dispoed between one ofsaid cabinet sides and the adjacent drawer sides for permitting thedrawer to be secured in fully closed position by a padlock locatedexternally of the filing cabinet walls comprising a keeper flangeaflixed to each of said adjacent drawer sides and projecting toward saidadjacent cabinet side and each having a keeper aperture therein, saidkeeper apertures being in vertical alignment with each other, a lockingbar supported for vertical reciprocative movement between said keeperflanges and said adjacent cabinet side, said locking bar having aplurality of vertically spaced bolt members corresponding to said keeperflanges rigidly fixed thereon terminating in downwardly projectingfingers located in the vertical axis of said keeper apertures when saiddrawers are all in fully closed position for projection into said keeperapertures, a generally horizontally disposed reciprocative elongatedcontrol member projecting through said front Wall aperture and having apadlock shackle-receiving aperture in one end thereof, a motion transferdisk pivotally supported at its center on said one of said cabinetsides, means pivotally coupling the other end of said control member andan end of said locking bar to said disk at circumferentially and equallyradially spaced points on said disk for reciprocating said locking baraxially upwardly and downwardly upon inward and outward axial movement,respectively, of said control member and release and interlock,respectively, said fingers simultaneously with said keeper apertures,said shackle-receiving aperture being located in exposed conditionimmediately outwardly of said front cabinet wall when said controlmember occupies its outermost position disposing said locking barfingers in interlocking relation with said keeper flanges and saidshackle-receiving aperture being withdrawn into said cabinet rearwardlyof said front wall when said control member is shifted inwardly towithdraw said fingers from said keeper flanges, and said front Wallhaving wall portions bounding said aperture and positioned to interceptthe path of movement of a padlock shackle extending through saidshackle-receiving aperture when said control member is projectedinwardly from said outermost position to prevent displacement of saidcontrol from said outermost position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,036,442 Bullock Aug. 20, 1912 1,277,412 Hardart Sept. 3, 19181,280,183 Donathan Oct. 1, 1918 1,955,525 Bales Apr. 17, 1934 2,533,173Mitchell Dec. 5, 1950 2,547,513 Wikman Apr. 3, 1951 2,559,579 AbrahamsonJuly 10, 1951

